GAME 7: 2009 CIS women’s field hockey championship: Vikes move closer to return trip to final

By UVic sports information office

VICTORIA (CIS) – The tournament host and defending champion Victoria Vikes moved one step closer to a repeat appearance in the CIS women’s field hockey gold-medal final after playing the top-seeded Guelph Gryphons to a 1-1 draw, Friday afternoon, in the final round-robin game of the second day of competition.

The undefeated No. 3-ranked Vikes show a 1-0-2 record for five points with one preliminary round match remaining and could clinch their 21st appearance in the title game since the inaugural CIS tournament in 1975 with a win versus the No. 5 Alberta Pandas (0-2-0)Saturday at 10 a.m. Pacific Time.

The Canada West champion and No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds have already clinched a spot in Sunday’s gold-medal final (1 p.m. Pacific) with a 2-0-1 mark and seven points with one duel left on their round-robin schedule. It will mark a 17th trip to the final for UBC, which shares the all-time record of 11 McCrae Cup championships with archrival Victoria.

Natalie Wise of Surrey, B.C., a senior forward with nine national caps, gave the Vikes the lead with a goal in the 56th minute of play.

The advantage was short-lived however as freshman Katelin Dellandrea of Guelph, Ont., tied the affair just two minutes later pocketing her tournament-leading fourth goal.

“I think we have to come out strong against Alberta [tomorrow] and I think we’re ready to do it,” said Wise, who has led the Vikes in scoring each of the past three seasons. “I don’t think there’s anything we can’t accomplish because we work as a team.”

The Vikes had one last opportunity when they were awarded a penalty corner in the final seconds of stoppage time. Wise narrowly missed tallying her second goal of the game, and was denied on a series of stops by Guelph ‘keeper Dorothy Marcy.

By forcing the tie, the OUA champion Gryphons maintained their chances of competing in Sunday’s final with a 1-1-1 record. Guelph ends round-robin play against Alberta Saturday at 4 p.m. in the preliminaries finale.

UBC faces Toronto (1-2-0) at 12:20 p.m. in Saturday’s other duel.

Wise was named player of the game for Victoria, while defender Heather Mitchell of Guelph picked up game-MVP honours for the Gryphons.

NOTES: Victoria is undefeated against Alberta this season with two wins and a pair of ties during the Canada West regular season. Last year, the Vikes defeated Alberta 2-1 in the CIS final to secure their 11th McCrae Cup... Guelph and Alberta played to a 2-2 draw in last year’s CIS tournament... UBC and Victoria have met in the CIS final on nine occasions with the T-Birds holding a 6-3 advantage including victories in the last three gold-medal meetings in 2006, 2004 and 2003...

SCORING SUMMARY
VIC: 0-1:1
GUE: 0-1:1

First half
No scoring

Second half
56th, VIC, Natalie Wise (1)
58th, GUE, Katelin Dellandrea (4)

Goaltenders
VIC: Kaitlyn Williams (T, 70:00, 1 GA, 1-0-2)
GUE: Dorothy Marcy (T, 70:00, 1 GA, 1-1-1)

Players of the game
VIC: Natalie Wise (Surrey, B.C.)
GUE: Heather Mitchell (Guelph, B.C.)

CHAMPIONSHIP SEEDING, STANDINGS & SCHEDULE (all times LOCAL: PACIFIC)

Seeding

1. Guelph Gryphons (OUA champions)
2. UBC Thunderbirds (Canada West champions)
3. Victoria Vikes (second place Canada West)
4. Toronto Varsity Blues (OUA finalists)
5. Alberta Pandas (third place Canada West)

Round-robin standings (after 7 of 10 games)

GP W L T GF GA PTS
1. UBC 3 2 0 1 6 2 7
2. Victoria 3 1 0 2 2 1 5
3. Guelph 3 1 1 1 6 6 4
4. Toronto 3 1 2 0 4 7 3
5. Alberta 2 0 2 0 2 5 0

Thursday, Nov. 5
Round-Robin 1: UBC 3, Guelph 1
Round-Robin 2: Victoria 1, Toronto 0
Round-Robin 3: UBC 3, Alberta 1
Round-Robin 4: Guelph 5, Toronto 2

Friday, Nov. 6
Round-Robin 5: Victoria 0, UBC 0
Round-Robin 6: Toronto 2, Alberta 1
Round-Robin 7: Victoria 1, Guelph 1

Saturday, Nov. 7
10:00 Round-Robin 8: Victoria vs. Alberta
12:20 Round-Robin 9: UBC vs. Toronto
16:00 Round-Robin 10: Guelph vs. Alberta
17:30 Tie-Breaking Strokes (if necessary)

Sunday, Nov. 8
10:00 Bronze medal
13:00 Championship final: UBC vs. TBD

- CIS -